Vincent Van Quickenborne

Belgian minister raises spy concerns about Chinese e-retail center at Liege airport

May 10, 2021 by Ian Allen Leave a comment

Liège Airport

BELGIUM’S MINISTER OF JUSTICE has raised espionage concerns about a new logistics hub that is under construction in eastern Belgium by a firm operating on behalf of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The hub is currently being built on a lot adjacent to the Liège Airport, which is situated 25 miles southwest of the Dutch city of Maastricht.

Based in the Chinese province of Zhejiang, Alibaba is a multinational technology firm that specializes in e-commerce and e-retail. It is often described as the Chinese version of the American e-retail giant Amazon. Today it is among the world’s 10 wealthiest companies and among the 30 largest public firms in the world. In its effort to expand its area of operations beyond Asia, Alibaba recently announced the construction of six global logistics hubs, which will enable it to deliver products anywhere in the world within 72 hours.

Scheduled to become operational by the end of this year, the logistics center in Liège is part of that larger effort by Alibaba. When completed, the center will be operated by Cainiao, which is Alibaba’s logistics arm. When it was announced last year, the project was praised by Belgian officials in the state of Wallonia, where the hub will be based, as a great innovation that will create new jobs and other employment opportunities for local people.

But now Belgium’s Justice Minister, Vincent Van Quickenborne, has expressed concerns about the project. Speaking last Thursday before the Belgian Federal Parliament’s Committee on Justice, Van Quickenborne was asked by a parliamentarian whether the Alibaba hub posed security concerns for the state. The minister responded saying that the placement of Chinese workers and logisticians at the hub could potentially be exploited by the Chinese government to plant intelligence operatives at the airport. Additionally, the logistics center could have access to commercial and personal data of Alibaba’s European customers, and could share them with Beijing, said Van Quickenborne.

The minister claimed that, like every other Chinese firm, Alibaba is obligated to “obey the Chinese security apparatus” and hire government spies as employees when asked to do so. He added that “this interest [by the Chinese state] is not limited to intelligence and security purposes but can be viewed within a broader political and economic framework”. Van Quickenborne concluded his remarks by saying that his ministry had been warned by the Surete de l’Etat —Belgium’s counterintelligence agency— of the security dangers embedded in China’s growing economic influence in the country.

On Friday a press statement issued by the embassy of China in Brussels decried Van Quickenborne’s comments as “baseless allegations” that harmed relations between Belgium and China. The statement added that, contrary to reports in the Western media, the Chinese state does not “demand Chinese enterprises to engage in activities that breach local laws or regulations”.

► Author: Ian Allen | Date: 10 May 2021 | Permalink

Filed under A specialized intelligence website written by experts, since 2008 Tagged with Alibaba Group, Belgium, China, Liege (Belgium), Liege Airport, News, Vincent Van Quickenborne

Belgium says foreign spies have infiltrated its largest mosque

December 8, 2020 by Joseph Fitsanakis Leave a comment

Vincent Van Quickenborne BELGIUM’S LARGEST MOSQUE has been infiltrated by Moroccan intelligence, according to the Belgian minister of justice, who allegedly consulted the country’s spy services in making that determination. The announcement has further-strained relations between the Belgian government and the country’s Muslims, which account for about 5% of the Belgian population.

Until recently, the Grand Mosque of Belgium had been operated by the Muslim World League (MWL), a Saudi Arabian missionary society that is primarily funded and controlled by Riyadh. The lease agreement was struck between the Saudi Arabia and Belgian governments in 1969. It stipulated that Saudi Arabia would supply Belgium with cheap oil, in return for the MWL operating the Grand Mosque without interference from the Belgian state. Since then, Saudi Arabia has been able to have a say in the selection of imams who preach at the mosque.

But the Belgian security services began to scrutinize the activities of the Grand Mosque following the 2016 Brussels bombings —three coordinated suicide attacks carried out by the Islamic State. The attacks killed 32 people and injured hundreds. Earlier this year, the Belgian government annulled the 1969 agreement with Saudi Arabia, claiming that the oil kingdom was using the mosque to spread the tenets of radical Wahhabi Islam. Belgian authorities said at the time that they would assume control over the Grand Mosque, in order to “terminate foreign interference in the teachings of Islam” in Belgium.

Last week, the Belgian government rejected an effort by the Grand Mosque to be officially recognized as a local community provider of faith services. The designation comes with substantial financial support from the Belgian state. Media reports suggested that the decision to deny the application was made by Belgium’s Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne (pictured), following consultations with the country’s intelligence services. According to the reports, Belgium’s intelligence services have identified at least three members of the Grand Mosque’s clerical and administrative staff as members of the Moroccan intelligence services.

On Friday, the minister gave an interview to VRT Radio 1, Belgium’s Flemish-language public broadcaster, in which he justified his decision to turn down the mosque’s application. “I am unable to —and will not— accept that foreign agencies can hijack Islam for their own ideological and political goals”, said Van Quickenborne. He added that he saw it as his duty to stop those who attempt to “prevent Muslims in [Belgium] from developing their own progressive Islam”.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 08 December 2020 | Permalink